Impossible to Forget
by deejaymcknight
Summary: Post Afterlife Fic. It starts off with quarters, but what else can Claire remember about Alice?


**Yes, this happened. I own nothing. More to come.**

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><p>"You used to put those together by the fire. Back in Nevada." Claire pointed out as she sat across from Alice, who had begun her nearly nightly ritual of quarter stacking. They'd been on Arcadia for a month now, slowly making their way down the shoreline. Their numbers had grown exponentially, especially with someone sending a new message daily. They were sending out hope this time, not a pre-recorded message. Soon they'd find a place to settle, begin a colony. Right now though? It was open sea or bust.<p>

"Yeah I di- wait. You remember?" Alice said as she looked up, casting her attention away from the pile she had been working on to look directly at the red head beside her. Claire's memory had been coming back in bursts, each time more random and fulfilling than the last one. Knowing that the woman had begun to remember those months back then...for the first time in a decade, Alice had a surge of her own private hope.

She smiled and nodded, that smile Alice remembered all too well. It had been such a rare site nearly two years ago but when it made an appearance, the brunette woman remembered those times fondly. "You'd sit there and count silently so you wouldn't lose your place. I'd watch you articulate each number, one to sixteen over and over again. And then you'd pull the paper apart and start folding. First time I saw you do it I thought you were crazy. But then, as I came to realize you _were_ crazy." Claire dodged a playful smack at those words. "I realized your plan was pretty genius. And that you knew what you were doing. Or were damn good at faking it." she added with a soft chuckle as she began to separate the quarters into stacks as well.

"Well what can I say. I was trying to impress you." Alice said with a shrug and a half smirk, not bothering to watch her words. Even of Claire didn't remember what they had Alice did, it's what's kept her going those first six months as a human again.

"You did a damn good job." the younger of the two said without looking up from her current stack, though she did hear the other woman stop her motions. Looking up slowly, a curtain of red hair covering part of her face she began to speak. "I remember that too. Much better memory than the OCD quarter ritual." The look in her eyes made the older of the two want to melt, and dance and sing and about a million other things a badass like herself would never do. So instead of embarrassing herself she just grinned and continued onward.

"What do you remember?" So her play it cool act lasted no more than twenty seconds but when you're in the middle of the zombie apocalypse and the girl whom you fell in love with regains her memory, cool isn't all that important.

"Minor details, its frustrating actually." Claire said with a small laugh that seemed, almost sad and was no where near as melodic was Alice had remembered it being. "Like Otto, and that weird can thing he did." She spoke without realizing that the woman beside her didn't have the slightest idea who Otto was. "Or how you can't sleep on anything but your back because you have that scar on one shoulder and your other arm is your shooting arm so you always have it free." This memory she was proud of, her face lighting up ever so slightly as she recalled it. "But you'd always keep me next to you. Even if it was a thousand damn degrees." Well, she seemed happy enough about it, Alice thought to herself with an internal smile.

_Stay smooth Alice, stay smo-_ "Well, I know how creeped you were about the whole Vegas run-in. Didn't want you having nightmares or anything."_ Oh yeah, knight in shining armor. Good move_. Safe to say Alice was feeling pretty good about her self right about now.

"Yeah? What about the nights before that?" And she was busted.

"Well uh, heh." Running a hand over the back of her neck she focused on the table for a second as she willed her mind to think. Why she was so concerned about the truth, she wasn't entirely sure but a part of her believed if she didn't maintain the mysterious bad-ass exterior Claire had come to know back in that desert- she'd have second thoughts.

"Alice. I was kidding. You don't have to say anything. Relax." The redhead offered up a smile as she touched her hand to Alice's arm. Since her rescue from the airfield the two had been in closer contact than this but for some reason this touch felt different. Was it because she remembered things again, she wasn't entirely sure. But it did make her mind work in overdrive to remember more, which in turn was fruitless. She wouldn't remember by forcing it, that only left her annoyed and with a killer headache.

The older of the two felt the spark as well, as if it really existed. Her eyes went from the table, to Claire's hand, up to her eyes and then repeated the cycle once more before she began to speak. "For the first time in six year I was able to sleep a night nearly all the way through. I was safe, even if the world was going to shit around us. For once." She paused here, these words seemed tougher to say than they were to comprehend but she was going for broke here, letting herself try these feelings things on for size. "For once I had someone who would save me."

With a slight squeeze to her arm Claire smiled, remaining silent for a bit as she took in the information. Alice came off as a bitch to nearly everyone she met, most would call it a defense mechanism - which is was in a way. She didn't get attached, which was a good quality to have in the post apocalyptic world they lived in. But a few people were able to get to know her, the actual Alice and unfortunately most of them wound up dead. Which was the main reason Claire understood why that confession was hard for her. The woman beside her was a modern day superhero. With or without her T-virus powers. She saved everyone and never expected anything back.

"I'll always save you." Her voice came out in just above a whisper, the urge to say those words far to strong to fight.

"Do you remember the helicopter? What I said to you before you took off?" Alice asked suddenly, causing Claire to sit up a bit straighter and tilt her head ever so slightly. Like she was trying to recall a phone number or something without much importance.

"Can't say I do. What'd you tell me?" Claire sat there wracking her brain for a moment before giving up. She'd tell her again wouldn't she?

Well, that didn't turn out the way she had planned it, not in the slightest. The emotions running amuck in her body were making her nearly itch as Alice shifted around a bit in her seat. All the wanted to do was pull the redhead into her arms and never let go, consequences be damned. But she knew that was pushing it which only made her berate herself for considering it. Looking at the scattered mess in front of her she pushed the quarters and paper back into their bag before standing up slowly and leaning down, pressing a kiss to Claire's forehead. "Nothing. Get some sleep Redfield. I'll see you in the morning." With those words she was off into the hull of the ship, leaving a confused woman still seated at the table.

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><p>Something clicked though, the moment Alice used her surname. It was like watching a movie in her mind and suddenly she realized she remembered it. She remembered everything about that day.<p>

T_he humming sound of the helicopter powering up brought a grin to her face. This crazy plan was going to work, they were going to Arcadia. They'd live there without the worry of infected with the rest of the survivors who had made their way there and finally have a chance to be happy. They'd settle down, start new make a life for themselves toget-_

_"You're not coming?" K-Marts voice ripped through her thoughts as the blades began to chop violently at the air around them. Had she heard the young blond correctly or were her ears playing tricks on her and Alice was leaping into the chopper already._

_"Take care of the others." Oh god, she really wasn't coming with them. She was going off to be a big damn hero once again. Screw everything else, she was making her mistakes right again. Claire turned her head and swore she saw tears leaping up into the teenager behind hers eyes. But K would be strong, of course she would; she looked up to Alice, giving her only a solid nod in response as her arm looped around the little boy beside her, pulling him near._

_"Alice?"_

_"I'll come find you. I promise I will." She said before looking back, seeing the horde only growing angrier. They needed to go and fast. "Claire, you gotta go. NOW." Her her whipped back and forth between the eyes in front of her and the gate that wasn't doing it's job very much longer._

_"Don't break your fucking promise." Claire hissed as she took the cyclic into her hands, her feet ready at the pedals before she felt a hand on her arm, causing her head to whip back in the direction of the woman still outside of the chopper._

_"Wouldn't dare. I fucking love you Redfield. Now GO." Letting go of her arm she locked eyes with the redhead and gave her a salute, a small smirk on her face before she ran towards the single cabin behind the fence._

"Oh my God." Claire muttered as she came back from wherever she was in her mind. That's what she had said, and like an idiot Claire never responded back. _Like she ever gave you the chance_. She thought to herself, but that didn't matter. She remember it now and dammit, this wasn't going to slide. She was up from her seat and bolting down the hall in seconds, knowing exactly where she needed to be in this very moment. Her room was close to Alice, the brunette had mentioned something about close proximity or something. Whatever it was, she was damn thankful for it now.

She turned the corner with less than grace, skidding slightly against the plastic floor of the ship when she saw Alice at the far end of the hall, about to enter her room. "Alice! Wait!" she yelled, taking off once again, this time at full speed towards the other woman.

Alice had yet to even turn around fully and answer when arms were thrown around her neck and she was thrown off balance and onto the floor. Her arms instantly found their way around the waist of her attacker and she gripped her close, looking up to see an out of breath Claire atop her.

"I fucking love you too." She said with probably the widest grin Alice had ever seen on not only the redhead, but on anyone. Before she could answer, or even do anything she felt lips against hers, a hard kiss followed by a series of fast messy ones. Her mind finally caught up with the situation and _holy shit_ her smile began to hurt.

Lifting quickly she brought them into a seated position, resting her forehead against Claire's, her chest heaving slightly as well. "You remembered." she managed to get out, getting a laugh in response, followed by another kiss.

"You're impossible to forget." she said simply, pushing a hand through Alice's hair before sitting back against her thighs and smiling.

"Well if that's the case..." Alice began as she tightened her grip around Claire's waist, using her legs to lift them both up off of the floor, pinning her against the wall with a grin and a lingering kiss to the neck exposed to her. "you're coming with me. We've got some reacquainting to do." Latching her teeth around the skin and getting the slightest of moans, she grinned and reached for the door; opening it and carrying Claire in, kicking the door closed behind her.

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><p><strong>So, guess I'm back. Thanks for reading. Review even if you hate it.<strong>


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